Since it was posted on Russian site Scandalim on Tuesday, this video has exploded on the Russian web.

In an attempt to do away with religion, Soviet Russia turned its churches into swimming pools, warehouses and sobering-up clinics. Now, the trend is being reversed - schools, cinemas and hotels are being transformed into churches by Orthodox parishioners. Read more and see the photos...

Allegations of election fraud in Russia are not uncommon. But they usually come from the opposition. This video, of a slightly irate, somewhat drunk, pro-Kremlin election observer in Moscow, has become one of the most talked about subjects in the Russian blogosphere, after he disclosed the ruling party's "secrets" of fraud. Read more....

Thousands of St Petersburg residents took to the streets on Saturday to protest plans to build a 400-metre skyscraper in the historic centre of the city. Despite widespread opposition however, the future home of Russian energy giant Gazprom is already being built. Read more...

"Driver, give way to expensive foreign cars with flashing lights!"

Muscovites were, on September 24, surprised to find adverts in the city streets suggesting that their council was corrupt, xenophobic and irresponsible. Carrying the council logo, the allegations seemed to be coming straight from the horse's mouth. Read more and see the photos...

Once one of the world's largest inland seas and home to thousands of species, in under 20 years the Aral Sea has shrunk to ten percent of its original size and is so salty that barely any life form remains. The Russians were taught to believe that the sea was an "error of nature" and therefore pointless, but as our Observer points out, the real catastrophe was man-made. Read more...

With lyrics like "Just don't listen to him; a pig will always find mud to roll in", it's no surprise that punk band PTVP can't be found on Russian TV. But one of our pro-Kremlin Observers tells us it's got nothing to do with politics. Read more...

This ad is aimed at people who are having difficulties in finding a willing car insurer - something which is obligatory in Russia. The message at the end: "If no car insurer will have you,

The Russian government is planning to allow pro-Kremlin volunteers to set up a nationwide youth militia by recruiting 100,000 destitute 17- to 25-year-olds to patrol the streets in return for food and shelter. The news comes just months after a similar initiative was set up in Italy. Is Europe seeing a return to citizen policing? Read more...

Twitter came under an unprecedented cyber-attack on Thursday night, which blocked some 17 million subscribers from accessing the micro-blogging platform. Clues on the origins of the attack suggest the Russian-Georgian conflict may have spilled over into the social networking site. Read more...